Cleaning device



Nov. l5, 1955 F. w. HARRIS 2,723,412

CLEANING DEVICE Filed May l2, 1955 Y MMM INVENTOR. Fokkfsr M HARRIS United States Patent lll ICLEANING DEVICE Forrest `-W.I1Iari'is, Los-Angeles, Calif.

Application May 12, 1953,` Serial No. .354,505

'-9-Claims. (Cl. 15-210) This invention relates to a cleaning device which may be utilizedfor various types of cleaning operations,the cleaning device 'being composed'of two independent sections which whenused as ran assembly are particularly suitable for cleaning slats, such as Venetian .blind slats, and when used independently, arey particularly suitable for cleaning flat surface areas, .such as Windows, windshields and thelike.

The independent sections may be readily -assembled together for Slat cleaning purposes and may bejrust ,as easily disassembled foruse as independent cleaning devices.

An important object ,of .thevinventionis vto provide a cleaning device with a hinge structure `of a type which makes it possible to form each `of thesections of a molded synthetic resin. t

A further object of-the invention is toyprovide a cleaning device comprised of two independent sections which when used as an assembly are suitablefor certain types of `cleaning operations, .said sections being readily separable-for useindependentlyin other types ,of cleaning operations.

A further object of the invention .is to provide-'one .of

`the sections Witha replaceable squeegee whichlisanchored in a novelmanner, to one facethereof.

A further ,object of vtheinvention is toprovidea novel hinge structuresuitable for use witha pairlofarms wherein itis desired to separate said armson frequent occasions.

A further object of :thednventionsto providea cleaningdevice whichis relatively inexpensive to'v manufacture.

Other objects andadvantages `will be apparent .upon-ei@ .amination-of the following specification and appended Aoppositefaces of. the Vhan'clleportions andthe .oppositeend o'f thehinge structure exposed.

The invention contemplates theuse of .twoindependent `sections generally .designated .by the .lettersAand B. The sectionA includes `a `handleportion 2 `a head ,3.-and a ,socket 4` formed .at thefree .end ofthe yhandle portionall of which are-moldedintegrally .froma material such-as a syntheticresin. The socket portion is 4bifurcated thereby .providingopposed recessed bearing plates 5and.6. `Each bearing 4plate .is bordered .on three .of .its edges with an inwardly projecting continuons hange, the flange portions 7 andS being slightly divergentrelativeto each other commencing from the base'flange 9, thereby forming an enlarged entrance mouth to facilitate initial entry of the "free end .of'section B during theassembly operation. The 'sideanges'fl and "8 servegpr'imarily to ,guide the-pintle portions 110,!forme'd on'thetongue `11 during the descent l'ofvsarneltowardsthe:bottom of thewsocket 4, thelower Aregions'of said side I"flanges, however, additionally function ltolirnit `the lfore and aftfmovement-of'the pintle por- Aice 'tions 10 after the tongue is fully inserted intothe 'socket `(asbest viewed in Fig. l),v it being apparent'that the leading edges 12 ofthe pintle'portions 10 will engage walls 8 Iand Vthetrailing Vedges 13 will engage walls 7 whenever on'eattempts to move section B rectilinearly relative to' section A after said sections are fully assembled together as viewed in Figs. l and 2. The function of the base flanges 9 will be set forth hereinafter.

The section B includes a handle portion 14, a head 15 andthe tongue portion 11, previously mentioned,'all of Which'are molded integrally from a material such as a synthetic resin. The longitudinal edges 'on 'the opposite sides of the handle portion 11 are notched at 16-and 17, said notches being equidistant from the free end 18'0f the tongue and each notch deninga gapbetween` the leading edges 12 and the terminal portions 19 of the handle which gap is ample to accommodate the Wall thickness of the 'flanges 7, 8 and 9 (as best Viewed in Fig. l) during the assembly operation. It will be noted that there will be a slight amount of longitudinal play between the two sections due 'to the size of these notches, however, this clearance factor is instrumental in assuring rapid assembly and disassembly of the two sections and the resultant longitudinal play is of no consequence when the assembled sections are in use as a cleaning device. The

`pintle portions 10 are formed integral with ,the tongue and include one on each side thereof. Each pintle portion resembles asegment of a cylindric with the upper surlfaces 20 vhaving the curved contour andthe underneath surfaces being flat. lt `will'be noted that the'pintle portions lll overhang 'the fianges 7,8 and 9 and can only be 'Withdrawnfrom socket 4 Via the mouth 21 thereof.

ln theassembly of the twosections the'handle .portions 2 and `14 are first positioned in aligned end to end fashion (as viewed in Figs. 4 and 5) with the pintle portions of thetongue manipulated directly over themouth of socket '4. Thenrthe tongue 11 is lowered into the socket, notches v1'6 .and 17 accommodating "flanges 7. When the curved ,Surfaces 20 of the;pintle portions engage their respective baseilanges y), then the`handle14 is swung, approximately when the two sections are hinged together in fully closed position. The free end of the rubberflike peg has a tapered 'nose'portion 26 which in conjunction with the V-groove 24- .aiords a centering conditionto maintain the opposed arms in a common longitudinal alignment as well as lending support and stahilityto the over-all assembly which is additional to that afforded by thehinge connection. The

pegisanchored within thebore 27 in .boss 28 formed in- `tegral with section A, said boss also functioning as the bridging portion for the bifurcated socket 4.

it will be ,noted in viewing Fig. l that when the nose 26 of ,the peg is fully inserted within the groove 24 and is in engagement with thesides of the groove, the cleanin g pads 29 and 3ft, which4 are anchored to the-respective inner faces of the head portions ofthe sections A and B, ,are maintained in spaced relation, the 4spacing being -suicient to assure that the opposed cleaning pads may be readily manipulated to embrace'between them the article to he cleaned, such as a Venetian blind slat 31. The resistanceoffered by theppeg 25 is 4easily overcome when the handle portions `of the assembleddevice yare manually 'grasped in one hand and squeezed toward each other,

lby application of `manual pressure, the rubber-like peg `beingcompressed slightly and possibly deflected slightly due-to itslfexible characteristics. The cleaning pad 29 thus engages one face of slat 31 and pad 30 the opposite face of the slat, the cleaning operation then being consummated by simply drawing the closed pads along the length of the slat. When one slat is cleaned, the manual squeezing pressure is released and the rubberlike peg functions in the manner of a spring to automatically separate the cleaning pads to the condition indicated in Fig. l and the device is ready for transfer to a second slat. When the manual pressure on the handles is released and the cleaning pads are separated slightly, the leading edges 12 of the pintle portions are resting on the flanges 9 with the trailing edges 13 slightly raised from the flanges. When the handles are squeezed together, the iat under surfaces of the pintles approach a condition of full face to face engagement with the ilanges 9.

The cleaning pads may be of sponge rubber, lambs wool, felt, fabric or other suitable material, Fig. l disclosing a sponge rubber type of material.

Section B may be readily separated from section A by simply swinging the two arms approximately 180 degrees about the axis of the hinge pintles in the reverse direction from that hereinbefore described relative to the assembly of the device until the sections are in end to end alignment as viewed in Figs. 4 and 5 after which the tongue of section B is simply withdrawn out of socket 4 in an upwardly direction when viewing Fig. 5. Either of said sections may then be utilized to clean at objects such as windows, the cleaning pads, of course being applied directly to the window surface. ln this type of cleaning operation section B is provided with a rubberlike squeegee 34 for scraping the excess water or cleaning uid from the window. The outer face of head portion is provided with a shallow groove 35 which traverses the entire width of the head. A binder strip 36, preferably molded from a synthetic resin, has a groove 37 extending throughout its entire length. The binder strip may be anchored to the head portion 15 by rivets 38 so that the groove 37 is disposed opposite the groove 35 thereby providing an elongated pocket within which the base portion of the squeegee is removably anchored, said base portion being inserted at either end of the pocket and then pushed throughout the length of the pocket until fully inserted as shown in Fig. 2. The base portion of the squeegee is provided with a full length bead 39 which is rather readily compressible being of comparatively thin section and thus assists in aiiording frictional contact with the wall of groove 37 to help prevent lengthwise dislodgment of the squeegee. The scraping blade 40 of the squeegee projects through the elongated mouth formed between the longitudinal marginal edges 41 and 42 of grooves 35 and 37. The front wall 43 of the binder strip merges with the base 44 and the longitudinal juncture of these two walls provides a full length scraping edge 46 which may be used for scraping purposes (preferably but not necessarily with the squeegee removed).

I claim:

l. A cleaning device comprising separable first and second arms, a head portion at one end of each arm, a handle portion for each arm; a male hinge member at the end of the iirst arm; a female hinge member at the end of the second arm; the female hinge member including a bifurcated socket formed at the end of the second arm, said bifurcated socket including opposed side walls spaced from each other, opposed end walls spaced from each other and connected to the side walls, a floor connected to and at the lower edges of the side walls and end walls thereby defining a socket which is open at its upper end; the outer end wall having a slot extending entirely throughout its length and the iloor having a slot extending throughout its length; the male hinge member including a tongue formed at the end of the iirst arm, the Width of said tongue being less than the width of the slot in the end wall and less than the width of the slot in the floor; a hinge pintle formed on the tongue transversely thereof and having each of its ends projecting beyond the longitudinal edge on either side of the tongue, said projecting pintle ends each overreaching the width of the floor slot so that each pintle end has contact with the floor on opposite sides of the slot, whereby swinging movement of one arm relative to the other arm about the axis of the pintle may be effected throughout an arc of greater than the inside face of one handle portion having a groove which extends longitudinally of said handle portion in substantial alignment with the major axis of said handle portion; a solid peg of soft compressible and resilient material and having a tapered nose for registering with and being guided into the groove when the arms are swung to closed position relative to each other, said peg normally urging the said portions of the arms slightly away from each other and said peg being located exteriorly of the socket.

2. A cleaning device comprising a pair of separable arms; each arm including a head portion, a handle portion and a hinge portion molded integrally of a synthetic resin material; the hinge portion of one arm including a socket bifurcated throughout its entire length to form an uninterrupted slot in the end wall and an uninterrupted slot in the floor thereof, said slots being in unrestricted communication with each other; the hinge portion of the other arm including a tongue received in the bifurcated region of the socket; a pintle formed on the tongue transversely thereof, the pintle ends projecting beyond the longitudinal edge on either side of the tongue and having contact with the socket iioor on opposite sides of the slot therein whereby swinging movement of one arm relative to the other arm about the pintle as an axis throughout an arc of greater than 90 may be effected; a resilient member secured to one arm adjacent its hinge portion and directed toward the other arm when the arms are hinged together and in closed position relative to each other, said resilient member normally urging the head portions of the arms slightly away from each other.

3. A cleaning device comprising a pair of separate arms; each arm including a head portion, a handle portion and a hinge portion molded integrally of a synthetic resin material; the hinge portion of one arm including a bifurcated socket; each half of the socket having a recessed area, the recessed area of one half being directed toward the recessed area of the opposing half; the hinge portion of the other arm including a tongue received in the bifurcated region of the socket; a pintle formed on the tongue transversely thereof, the pintle ends projecting beyond the longitudinal edge on either side of the tongue and having contact with each half of the socket whereby swinging movement of one arm relative to the other arm about the pintle as an axis may be effected; a resilient member secured to one arm adjacent its hinge portion and directed toward the other arm when the arms are hinged together and in closed position relative to each other, said resilient member normally urging the head portions of the arms slightly away from each other.

4. A cleaning device comprising a first arm and a second arm; each arm including a head portion, a handle portion and a hinge portion molded integrally of a synthetic resin material; the hinge portion of the first arm including a pair of spaced four sided side walls formed at the free end ofthe arm, a continuous flange bordering three of the four sides of each side wall, the ange of each side wall projecting outwardly from its respective side wall and being directed toward, and spaced from the flange of the other side Wall, the hinge portion of the second arm including a tongue and a pintle formed at the free end of said arm, the width of the tongue being less than the width of the handle portion of the arm adjacent the tongue and also being slightly less than the width of the gap between the opposed anges, the pintle being transverse to the tongue and having each freeend projecting beyond the longitudinal edge on either side of the tongue, each free end of said pintle overhanging and resting upon the respective adjacent ilange; the handle portion of the second arm having the longitudinal edge on either side terminating short of the respective projecting free end of the pintle to provide a notch on either side of the tongue, the width of each notch being greater than the wall thickness of the respective adjacent flange and each flange projecting within its adjacent notch, a resilient member secured to one arm, the other arm having a groove therein in registry with the free end of the resilient member for aligning one arm relative to the other arm, said resilient member normally maintaining the opposed head portions of the arms in spaced relation to each other.

5. A cleaning device comprising a rst arm and a second arm; each arm including a head portion, a handle portion and a hinge portion molded integrally of a synthetic resin material; the hinge portion of the first arm including a pair of spaced four sided side walls formed at the free end of the arm, a continuous flange bordering three of the four sides of each side wall, the ilange of each side Wall projecting outwardly from its respective side wall and being directed toward and spaced from the flange of the other side wall, the hinge portion of the second arm including a tongue and a pintle formed at the free end of said arm, t'ne width of the tongue being less than the width of the handle portion of the arm adjacent the tongue and also being slightly less than the width of the gap between the opposed ilanges, the pintle being transverse to the tongue and having each free end projecting beyond the longitudinal edge on either side of the tongue, each free end of said pintle overhanging and resting upon the respective adjacent ange; the handle portion of the second arm having the longitudinal edge on either side terminating short of the respective projecting free end of the pintle to provide a notch on either side of the tongue, the width of each notch being greater than the wall thickness of the respective adjacent iiange and each flange projecting within its adjacent notch.

6. A hinge comprising a rst butt and a second butt readily separable from each other; each butt being molded integrally of a synthetic resin material, the hinging portion of the first butt including a pair of spaced four-sided side walls formed at the free end of the butt, a continuous flange bordering three of the four sides of each sic Wall, the flange of each side wall projecting outwardly from its respective side Wall and being directed toward and spaced from the flange of the other side wall; the hinging portion of the second butt including a tongue and a pintle formed at the free end of said butt, the tongue being integrally formed on the second butt and the width of the tongue being less than the width of the adjacent portion of said butt and also being less than the width of the gap between the opposed flanges, the pintle being integral with and transverse to the tongue and having each free end projecting beyond the longitudinal edge on either side of the tongue, each free end of said pintle overhanging and resting upon the respective adjacent ange; the portion of the second butt adjacent the tongue portion having the longitudinal edge on either side thereof terminating short of the respective projecting free end of the pintle to provide a notch on either side of the tongue, the Width of each'notch being greater than the wall thickness of the respective adjacent flange and each ange projecting within its adjacent notch.

7. A cleaning device comprising a rst arm and a second arm; each arm including a head portion, a handle portion and a hinge portion molded integrally of a synthetic resin material; the hinge portion of the rst arm including a pair of spaced four sided walls formed at the free end of the arm, a continuous flange bordering three of the four sides of each side wall, the flange of each side wall projecting outwardly from its respective side wall and being directed toward and spaced from the flange of the other side Wall, the hinge portion of the second arm including a tongue lying in the plane of the handle portion and a pintle formed at the free end of said arm, the width of the tongue being less than the width of the handle portion of the arm adjacent the tongue and also being slightly less than the width of the gap between the opposed flanges, the pintle being transverse to the tongue and having each free end projecting beyond the longitudinal edge on either side of the tongue, each free end of said pinle overhanging and resting upon the respective adjacent ilange; the handle portion of the second arm having the longitudinal edge on either side terminating short of the respective projecting free end of the pintle to provide a notch on either side of the tongue, the Width of each notch being greater than the wall thickness of the respective adjacent flanges and each llange projecting within its adjacent notch; a resilient and compressible peg secured to one arm, the other arm having a groove therein in registry with the free end of the peg for aligning one arm relative to the other arm when the free end of the peg is received Within the groove, a shoulder on the peg engageable with a marginal edge alongside the groove to normally maintain the opposed head portions of the arms in spaced relation to each other and a cleaning pad secured to the head portion of each arm, said pads being in face to face position when the arms are hinged together in closed position relative to each other.

8. A cleaning device comprising an arm including a handle portion and a iiared ilat head portion integral with and commencing at the point of termination of the handle portion, said arm being molded from a synthetic resin material; said head portion having in one face a shallow groove, adjacent the free end thereof, said groove traversing substantially the entire width of the head portion; a binder strip anchored to the head portion adjacent the marginal edge of the groove and extending substantially the entire length of the groove; said binder strip having a longitudinally extending flange portion engageable with the face of the head portion for anchorage thereto; said binder strip also having a groove extending lengthwise thereof and opening into at least one terminal end thereof, the longitudinal line of said groove being substantially parallel to the longitudinal line of the groove in the head portion, each groove being disposed in face to face fashion to the other groove, one longitudinal marginal edge of one groove being spaced from one longitudinal marginal edge of the other groove thereby providing an elongated entrance mouth extending throughout substantially the entire length of the binder strip; a removable strip formed of resilient and compressible material and insertible at the open end of the grooves, said strip including a blade portion projecing out through the entrance mouth and a base portion having contact with the surface area of each groove, said strip also having an elongated bead formed on the base portion, said bead also having contact with the surface area of the groove in the binder strip.

9. A cleaning device as set forth in claim 8 wherein the binder strip has a base wall and a front wall extending throughout its length, said walls in cross section defining an acute angle at their longitudinal juncture line thereby providing a somewhat sharp marginal edge extending throughout the length of the binder strip.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 45,500 Imhorst Dec. 20, 1864 57,460 Barnard Aug. 28, 1866 678,701 Tudor July 16, 1901 2,123,638 Steccone July l2, 1938 2,155,462 Anderson Apr. 25, 1939 2,658,221 Nicoli Nov. 10, 1953 FOREIGN PATENTS 177,618 Great Britain Apr. 6, 1922 

